Reunion
by SkyGem
Summary: Izark and Noriko have finally found a way to travel between the two worlds and are able to visit Noriko's family. Currently being re-written because I realized just how much it sucks.
1. Coming Home

Summary: Izark and Noriko have finally found a way to travel between the two worlds and are able to visit Noriko's family.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kanata Kara a.k.a. From Far Away.

* * *

Noriko had been awake all night and was finally feeling the effects of her sleepless night just hours before she and Izark were due to leave.

Leave where, you ask? To her home world, of course!

After years of experimenting, the couple had finally found a way to travel between the two worlds, which was the prime reason for the brunette girl's sudden bout of insomnia. She was finally getting to see her parents and brother again after **five years**! How could she not be excited? Another reason she hadn't been able to sleep was for thoughts of introducing her husband to her parents and imagining what their reaction would be.

As Noriko was absentmindedly running a brush through her hair, thinking of the upcoming trip, Izark came into the room, and immediately, his face became panicked.

The girl couldn't help but let out a small giggle. When his look of panic turned to one of confusion, Noriko just waved her hand dismissively, saying, "Sorry. It's just that I'm a little sleep deprived, and you looked so funny, I couldn't help it."

Izark's eyebrows furrowed when he heard this. "Sleep deprived?" he asked.

His wife just smiled sheepishly. "I, umm, was too excited to sleep last night?" she said, making it sound like a question.

The one known as the sky demon merely smiled and shook his head in exasperation. "Well why don't you take a nap now? We won't be leaving for another hour or so."

Noriko just shook her head at this, saying, "I don't think I can; still too excited."

Izark already knew she was going to say this, so he already had his response ready. "Then why don't I sing you to sleep?" he asked.

Noriko's face lit up at the suggestion and she nodded her head enthusiastically, gesturing for him to come over. When he sat down on the edge of her bed, the girl laid her head in his lap and closed her eyes. Izark had the most beautiful voice; if his singing couldn't put her to sleep, then nothing could.

Izark chuckled at this before closing his eyes and starting to sing one of her favourite lullabies.

Before long, the girl was fast asleep and he couldn't help but think how peaceful she looked when she was asleep; almost the complete opposite of when she was awake.

When she was awake, she was always bustling about; never able to stay still and always trying to find a way to help others. She was too selfless; it was about time she got a break and got to do something she wanted.

Naturally, Izark was a bit nervous about the coming trip, but his excitement about finally being able to finally meet Noriko's family completely overpowered his nervousness.

They had mentioned in Noriko's diary last time that the two of them would be visiting, and even though he hadn't been there to see their reaction, Izark was sure that they had been just as happy (if not more so) as Noriko was about the upcoming visit. Izark hoped dearly that he wouldn't disappoint them.

Looking down at the girl sleeping peacefully with her head in his lap, Izark felt he understood why she was so excited to see her parents. She had been so young when she had been teleported to this world, and she had been so brave. Who would've guessed when all this had started that it would end up this way?

The man was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts by someone knocking on the bedroom door.

"Come in," he said softly so as not to wake Noriko.

The person to open the door was Gaya, who smiled fondly at the scene displayed in front of her. A bit hesitant to take Izark away from his sweetheart, she said, "I need a little help with something. Would you mind coming with me for a second?" When she saw that Izark was about to protest, she quickly added, "Only for a little while."

After a second more of hesitation, Izark nodded and followed Gaya out of the room.

* * *

When Noriko woke up about an hour after falling asleep in Izark's lap, she found that her husband was nowhere to be seen.

Rubbing her eyes sleepily, she decided to go looking for him.

After checking his room and anywhere else she thought he might be but having no such luck, she went to the kitchen to ask auntie Zena if she had seen him.

"Oh, he's out back collecting herbs with Gaya," replied the woman with a wide smile on her face. Even though they had been together for quite a while now, Zena still couldn't get over how cute of a couple the two of them made.

"Oh! Thanks, auntie!" said Noriko before going out to look for him. When she found him, he was exactly where Zena had said he would be. Not wanting to disturb him, she sat down and waited for the two of them to finish.

When Izark finally saw her, he and came over. "Shouldn't you still be asleep?" he asked, looking a bit worried.

Waving his worries off, Noriko replied with, "I'm not sleepy anymore."

The man smiled when he heard this and said, "Well, if you're sure you're not tired anymore, then go and get something to eat, then change. We'll be leaving soon."

"Sure thing," replied Noriko, performing a mock salute before going back into the house to get something to eat.

After she was done eating, she went back to hers and Izark's room to look for something to change into.

And that was how Izark found her ten minutes later, going through the closet, throwing clothes out behind her so that their room looked as if a clothing tornado had hit.

Letting out a chuckle, the black haired man sighed and asked a question he already knew the answer to. "What's wrong?"

Looking back at him, Noriko pouted. "I can't find anything decent to wear!"

"Just wear what you normally do," replied her lover, but she refused to listen.

"No way! I'm going to see my family for the first time in five years! I need to look fabulous!"

Shaking his head at her silliness, Izark walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Placing a kiss on her temple, he said, "They're your family! They won't care how you look, just that you actually bothered to come! Anyways, you always look fabulous."

Laughing, Noriko smacked him lightly on the head, saying, "You're biased."

But still, she took his advice and changed into a comfortable dress.

Before long, she was standing beside him, and he looked down at her with a smile.

"Ready?"


	2. Meeting the Family

There was a blinding flash of light as Izark opened the doors to the world of light and, as always, the beauty of it left him breathless. No matter how many times he saw it, he was never able to get used to it.

When he was done admiring the beauty of the world of light, he looked down at the foreign world from which his wife had come.

As he had done many times before, he concentrated his mind on the only essence of Noriko left in that world; her old bedroom. This time, though, instead of concentrating his attention on a diary, he opened his mind to the chimos and conveyed to them his wish to be down there.

Before he knew what was going on, everything went black and the next instant, his senses returned and he found himself on the bed, with Noriko sitting beside him.

The next second, though, the petite brunette had jumped off of the bed and was making her way down the hallways of the house in which she had grown up.

"Mom! Dad!" she shouted, flitting down the stairs two at a time.

The next second, there was a clatter from the kitchen as her mom dropped the pans she had been holding, and a thump from the living room as her father fell off his sofa at the sound of her voice.

Running out into the hallway, the older couple finally laid eyes on their daughter for the first time in five years, and Noriko's mother burst into tears.

Running up to her daughter, she gathered her into her arms. "Oh my precious baby..." was all she could get out before she burst into tears again.

Noriko's father didn't say anything, but he didn't need to; not with the big grin on his face and the tears that were moistening his eye.

After her father had given her a bone-crushing embrace, Noriko pulled away with a ridiculously happy grin on her face.

Then, suddenly remembering her husband, she turned and dragged him to stand in front of the older couple.

"Mom, dad, I'd like you to meet Izark, my husband," she said, feeling giddy with excitement now that she had finally gotten to introduce Izark to her family.

Noriko's father then pulled the man into a quick embrace, then clapped him on the back, saying, "It's so good to finally be able to meet the same Izark whom we've heard so much about in our daughter's diaries. We really can't thank you enough for taking such good care of her all this time."

"Such a handsome young man, too," said Noriko's mother in an almost teasing voice.

A bright blush appeared on Izark's face at the praise and he stuttered out, "T-thank you very much. I-it was no problem at a-all." His Japanese held a slight accent, but was flawless grammar-wise, which showed the amazing results of his many months of grammar lessons.

Since Izark had needed to learn so many languages in his travelling warrior days, it hadn't taken him all too long to learn Japanese too.

Noriko's mother giggled at his shyness, then turned and started heading back to the kitchen, saying over her shoulder, "You two must be hungry; why don't you come downstairs and have lunch with us?"

"Yatta!" shouted Noriko, excited that she was finally going to eat her mother's cooking again. Grabbing Izark's hand and dragging him after her.

Just as everyone was sitting in their seats after arriving in the kitchen, there was the sound of someone unlocking the front door and coming in.

"Tadaima!" called a tired male voice.

There was then the sound of someone taking off their shoes and before long, a young man about Izark's age, whom he guessed was Noriko's big brother, appeared at the entrance to the kitchen.

As he came into the room, a series of emotions flitted across his face: first bewilderment, then confusion, and then extreme joy. Watching this, Izark had to hold back a chuckle, finally understanding why Noriko had laughed at him this morning, it was pretty funny.

"NORIKO! YOU'RE BACK!" shouted her older brother, running up to her and enveloping her in a hug.

"That's right," giggled the brunette, trying to get out of the bear hug she had suddenly found herself in. "And this is Izark," she said, gesturing in her lover's direction.

"It's nice to meet you," said Izark, holding out his hand.

Suddenly he let go of Noriko and approached Izark. Bypassing the outstretched hand, he gave Izark a hug, saying enthusiastically. "It's nice to meet you too. I've always wanted to see what kind of guy would actually be interested in my baby sister. I don't know what you see in her."

"Onii-chan!" exclaimed Noriko, smacking him on the head. "That's so mean!"

Chuckling, he said, "Oh you know I'm just kidding; I just about love you to death."

Izark just watched the siblings bicker with an amused smile on his face; this was a side of his wife he'd never seen before. The more he watched them, though, the more guilty he felt because he knew that, if she hadn't fallen in love with him, Noriko probably would have returned to her world and continued living her life the way she had before she had been whisked into his life.

Almost as if she had read his thoughts, Noriko turned to look at him with a frown on her face.

"You better not be blaming yourself again," she said in his language. "I mean, it's not like you forced me to stay."

Showing an exasperated smile, Izark asked, "How do you always know just what I'm thinking."

"Because I'm your wife," she said, flicking him lightly on the forehead. "Now let's get back to eating."


	3. You've Got a Lot of Explaining to Do!

After they had both finished eating, Natsume (AN: couldn't find his name, so I just made it up) dragged Izark away, presumably to his room, while Noriko stayed to help her mother with the dishes. They used the time to chat and catch up.

Soon, though, they were done, and Noriko went upstairs to look for her husband.

As was to be expected, they were both in Natsume's room.

Approaching the doorway, Noriko heard Izark's muffled voice from inside the room.

"...with petals all around her."

As Natsume burst out laughing, the twenty-year-old stopped for a moment, wondering why her brother seemed so amused.

It didn't take her long to realize just which story Izark had told her brother, and when she did, she was furious.

Bursting into the room, she went up to Izark with a glare. "Why did you tell him about that?"

When they both saw her, the expressions on their faces resembled kids who had been caught doing something they weren't supposed to be doing.

Suddenly, though, Izark smirked teasingly. "Oh? Then would you rather I told him about the last time we visited EnnaMarna?"

Natsume heard this and his eyes glistened with curiosity. "What? What? Tell me!"

"Don't. You. Dare!" hissed Noriko threateningly and Izark gulped a little, wondering whether he dared to make his wife any angrier than she already was.

"N-never mind," he stuttered.

"What? Why?" whined Natsume. Seriously, was a guy in their mid-twenties supposed to act so childish?

"Because," said Noriko, "We're going out."

"Then I'll come with you!" supplied Natsume enthusiastically.

"Whatever," replied Noriko, "but you still won't hear the story. That is, not if you both want to live."

"H-hai!" they both said immediately, looking a little scared.

"Great! Now, Natsume let Izark borrow some of your clothes. I'm going to go get changed," ordered Noriko before heading to her room to look for something decent to change into.

Luckily for her, she hadn't grown much over the last few years, only gaining some curves in all the right places. As a result, most of her clothes still fit, if only they were just a little snug around the chest area.

After a little thinking, she decided to wear a pretty white, spaghetti-strap top over a blue, knee-length skirt and white strap sandals. Her hair, which had grown to about waist-length, she put into a high ponytail and curled the bottoms a little bit.

After she had finished dressing, she went to look for Izark.

When she saw him, the girl had to resist the urge to blush. He looked hot, wearing a pair of black jeans, and over them, a black t-shirt that was just a little too small and showed off his lean muscles. His long, jet-black hair was in a braid down his back, and he wore a shell necklace that Noriko immediately recognized as Natsume's.

When he saw his wife come into the room, he went up to her and dropped a kiss on her cheek, saying, "You look gorgeous."

Noriko giggled flirtatiously and said, "Thank you. You don't look too bad yourself."

"Yeah, yeah, you both look awesome, now let's go!" said Natsume.

Noriko smiled brightly. "Okay then!

The three of them explored the town, showing Izark around and trying to hold back laughter at his reactions upon seeing certain things.

After they had finished exploring the town, the three of them headed to the park, which was absolutely beautiful this time of year, with all the sakura trees in bloom.

For a while, they just sat under the shade of the trees, talking about random stuff, but Noriko soon had to excuse herself shortly, saying, "Sorry, guys, but I need to go use the little lady's room. I'll be back in a sec.

Not long after she had left, Izark and Natsume were talking about what they should do the next day when they were approached by a group of girls.

"Hey, Natsume," said a girl with short black hair, trying to sound casual despite the blush on her face.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" asked Natsume, looking a little suspicious.

"Hm? Well, we were just taking a walk..." replied another girl with straight, light brown hair that reached the small of her back. This girl was also blushing, and as she talked, her eyes kept roaming back to Izark.

"And we saw you and decided to come say hi," finished another girl with long, curly, dark brown hair. She too seemed to be interested in Izark, although she was able to hide it a little better.

"So," said the black haired one, "Who's your friend?"

They all turned to look (read: stare) at Izark and Natsume's face became understanding. Letting out a small chuckle, he said, "This is my new brother, Tarj Izark. Izark, this is Miki, Aya, and Haine, Noriko's friends."

Izark perked up when he heard his wife's name. "Nice to meet you, you can just call me Izark," he said, standing up to shake hands, and they all blushed even deeper.

"So, Izark-san," said Aya, the one with the short black hair. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Well," he started, feeling a little awkward, "Actually I'm-"

He was saved when, much to his relief, Noriko returned, calling, "Hey, Izark!"

Turning around, Izark smiled a relieved smile, and when she reached them, he gave her a peck on the cheek, to make it clear that he already had someone special.

"What took you so long?" he asked with a hint of genuine worry in his voice.

Noriko, seeing the three blushing girls, realized why her husband was so cuddly all of a sudden. "None of your business," she replied, giggling softly.

As one, all three girls looked disappointed, and Haine tossed her curly, brown hair over her shoulder, sighing in disappointment.

As if suddenly noticing them, Noriko turned to the girls and smiled politely, saying, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't notice you. I'm Izark's wife, Tachiki Noriko. And you are?"

Aya and Miki seemed to latch onto the word wife, spiralling into endless depression, while Haine actually noticed the importance of what the girl said, and her eyes widened in shock.

"No way..." she said quietly, unbelieving. "N-Noriko?" she asked, grabbing onto the girl's shoulders and looking her in the eyes. "A-are you really Noriko?"

Noriko just looked confused for a moment, then, something about the girl seemed to trigger a memory, and her eyes widened to match the other girls. "Haine?" she asked, as if not believing what she was saying.

Suddenly, tears blurred Haine's vision, and she hugged her long-lost friend tightly.

The moment Miki and Aya realized that Izark's wife was their friend Noriko, they completely forgot any resentment they might have held towards her, or any romantic feelings they'd gained for Izark in the short time they'd known him.

"Noriko!" they both shouted in unison, hugging her tightly and crying their eyes out.

"W-we missed you so much!" blubbered Miki, sobbing into her shoulder.

"W-where have you been?" asked Aya at the same time, sobbing into her other shoulder.

Noriko giggled, trying to hold back tears of her own, and said, "I've missed you guys too.

Izark smiled when he saw the three of them. His smile was suddenly wiped off, though, when Natsume threw an arm around his shoulder and said, "Well, we'll be leaving now."

"Wha-?" asked Izark, thinking to protest, but was cut off by Natsume pulling him away.

"You girls go and catch up! I'll see you at dinner later, Noriko!"

Noriko didn't notice Izark's protests, and if she did, she chose to ignore them. "Okay, I'll see you guys later!"

As Natsume dragged off a very reluctant Izark, Haine suddenly realized something.

_Isn't Izark the name of the guy from her dad's novel?_ she thought, somewhat confused. Dragging her friend towards one of their favorite restaurants, the girl said, "You've got a lot of explaining to do!"


	4. Bundles of Joy

After arriving at the restaurant, the three of them ordered, and as they were waiting for their meals to arrive, Noriko began to explain everything to them. Thankfully, it didn't take as long as it would have, seeing as they had all read her father's book and basically knew of all her adventures.

As expected, they all pelted her with questions the moment she was done explaining, and by the time their orders had arrived, the three of them had finally run out of questions and were just staring at Noriko with wide eyes.

When the waitress left, the girls just continued to ignore their food. "…It's still really hard to believe that all this is true," said Miki.

"I know," added Haine. "To think that my favorite fantasy story of all time is actually true, and what's more, my best friend is the heroine!"

Noriko just giggled at this.

"I know, how you guys feel," she said in a knowing voice. "It took me a while to believe it myself, even though I was going through it myself."

The three of them just laughed, and finally seemed to notice their food.

As they all dug in, they continued talking, and Aya, Miki, and Haine gave a very condensed version of everything that had happened since she had disappeared.

Aya was in the middle of describing the university the three of them were attending when suddenly, Noriko felt sick to her stomach.

Staggering away from the table, she headed straight for the bathroom and as soon as she got into the closest stall, she started retching violently.

Her friends had rushed in after her, worried. Aya walked through the open stall door and held Noriko's hair for her, so it wouldn't get dirty.

After she had finished throwing up, the Noriko wobbled over to the sink to rinse the horrible taste out of her mouth.

Upon looking into the mirror, she saw that she was a wreck. Even before she could voice her question, Aya pulled a hairbrush out of her purse and started brushing her friend's hair.

Noriko shot her a grateful look, happy to see that, even after all these years, her friends knew her so well.

"I wonder why I threw up?" she suddenly asked, looking into the mirror as Aya continued combing her hair.

"Don't worry," replied Haine. "It's probably just food poisoning. You'll be fine."

"Yeah, that's probably it," said Noriko, as the four of them walked out of the restroom.

As soon as they walked out the door, though, the first thing they saw was Izark, standing impatiently beside the restroom door, looking worried.

As soon as he saw them walk out, Izark rushed to his wife, grabbing her by the shoulders and saying in his native tongue, "Noriko! Are you alright?"

Noriko replied in Japanese, saying, "It's okay, Izark. It was just a little food poisoning."

"Are you sure?"

Giggling, Noriko said, "I'm sure! Sheesh, Izark. You're such a worrywart."

Finally seeing that his wife was okay, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Anyways," said Noriko, turning to her friends, "do you guys want to sleep over tonight? Izark and I have to go home soon, so…"

"Eh?" asked Miki, sounding sad. "You're leaving so soon?

"Gomen," said Noriko apologetically.

Aya pouted and said, "Fine, we'll stay over, but you have to come visit again soon!"

Noriko laughed at this. "Of course!" she said.

And so, they parted ways; Haine and the others going to their houses to get what they needed for the night, and Noriko and Izark heading home for a little alone time before the girls got there.

"So," started Izark. "If your friends are going to sleep over, I guess I'm not allowed to sleep with you tonight?"

Noriko couldn't help but laugh at his pouting face. "Oh, come on, it's just for one night! Cheer up!"

Taking her advice to heart, he cheered up a bit, smiling. "Well, I guess it won't be too bad to stay with Natsume for a night," he said, smiling mischievously.

Noriko, catching onto his intentions, glared and said in a threatening voice, "You better not tell him any embarrassing stories. Not unless you want to be single again anytime soon."

And with that, she turned and left, leaving behind a disheartened looking Izark.

* * *

Noriko was woken up the next morning by a sick feeling deep in her stomach.

Rushing to the bathroom, she started to retch again, just like the day before. By the time her stomach had quieted down again, Izark was standing behind her, holding her hair back for her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking worried.

Noriko nodded, holding a hand to her aching stomach. "Maybe we should go see a doctor," she said uncertainly. "In case it's something worse than food poisoning…"

* * *

"Congratulations, ma'am!" the doctor told Noriko when he had come into the room. "You're pregnant!"

Noriko turned to look at her husband, who had been sitting beside her, holding her hand. Where seconds ago he had had a worried expression, he now looked devoid of all emotion.

"Izark?" she asked apprehensively, looking worriedly at her husband. "Are you okay?"

Suddenly, Izark's face broke into a wide grin and he grabbed his wife into his arms, spinning her around in a circle. "You're pregnant!" he exclaimed excitedly. "We're going to have a child! I'm going to be a father! I can't believe it!"

Noriko looked at him in shock, and the doctor discreetly left the two alone to get used to the idea of having a new member to their family.

When Izark put Noriko back on her feet, he said with a small smirk on his face, "So, now we have a problem."

"What do you mean?" asked Noriko, looking confused.

"I mean, where do you want her/him to be born?"

"Born?" she asked, confused.

"That's right. Do you want her to be born here or back home?"

"Hmmm," she seemed to think. Finally, she said, "I think she should be born here."

"Here?"

"Yeah, they have lots of doctors and stuff to make sure the deliverance is fine, and her grandparents need to be there too, right?"

"I guess, but what about Gaya, and Zena, and everyone else?"

"They can come here!" she said.

Izark thought about it for a while, then decided that Noriko's idea was probably best, so he have his okay.

The next few months were hectic for both Noriko and Izark. They were spent going back and forth between the two worlds and much of the time, Noriko was either sick, or very mood-swingy.

And before long, they found out about another surprise in store for them. When Noriko was far enough along, they had an ultrasound, and it turned out that she wasn't having just one kid, she was having twins! One would be a girl and the other a boy.

* * *

Noriko was in the hospital; sound asleep on the bed after a successful, albeit incredibly painful, delivery. When she finally woke up, she saw Izark sitting beside me, holding her hands. Smiling down at her, he said, "They're absolutely beautiful."

When Noriko heard this, she felt an incredible pride well up inside her, which was soon replaced with a longing to see her two new little bundles of joy; the two little bundles of joy that belonged to her and Izark.

Unfortunately, she wasn't allowed to see them for a few hours as they went through all the standard tests to make sure that they were healthy.

When she finally did get to see them, she found it was worth the wait because they were the most beautiful babies in the entire world. They both looked almost exactly the same. They both had their father's hair, and nose, but my eyes and lips. The different attributes joined together harmoniously, making the most adorably little newborns I had ever seen.

After the doctor had given me time to admire my new little ones, he said, "So, have you thought of names for them?"

Looking up, Noriko said without hesitation, "The younger one, the girl, will be named Yuriko."

"And the older one, the brother, will be named Haruki," continued Izark with a wide smile.

"Yuriko and Haruki," repeated the doctor, writing them down. "Beautiful names for beautiful babies."

Smiling at each other proudly, Izark and Noriko thanked the doctor then he let the young couple have some alone time with their children.

_**The End**_

* * *

SkyGem: Well, that's the end of this fic! I just want to thank everyone who's stayed with this fic until the end, and please do leave one last review on your way out! Ciao~

P.S. Here's a cute little omake to say thanks to y'all for coming this far.

* * *

**Izark Discovers Ice Cream**

Izark stared down at what he was holding in his hands, incredibly perplexed. What was this? Was it food? It didn't look like any food he'd ever seen. He looked over at Noriko who was licking her 'ice cream,' as she called it. Trying to copy her, he licked the 'ice cream' and was surprised to find it was incredibly cold and delicious. Excited, he started licking his ice cream really fast until there was nothing left but the cone.

Seeing him do this, Noriko started to giggle. He was so incredibly cute! Almost like a child. Turning around at the sound of her giggling, Izark noticed that Noriko had some ice cream on her cheek. Suddenly, he had an awesome idea. He put down the cone that only seconds before had held ice cream but was now empty, and approached Noriko.

"I-Izark?" stuttered Noriko, a bit confused.

Izark took no notice of this but continued approaching her. When he was close enough to her, he kissed her on the cheek, right where the ice cream was, in the process licking it all off.

When Noriko felt this, she started to laugh. "I-Izark!" She laughed. "G-get off of me! Stop! It-it tickles!" she shouted, but by now Izark had completely forgotten about the ice cream. Now, he was just doing it to make her laugh, and by the end of it, the were both on the floor, Noriko in Izark's arms, both laughing hysterically.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how Izark discovered ice cream.

~The End~


End file.
